Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon, SK (Canada)

Cats at the School Art Exhibit at the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon, SK (Canada): L By Emily McKay-Hikwa, Grade 2; R By Noah Sawyer, Grade 2

As an afterthought to the Vesna Festival and Ukrainian Museum of Canada, I decided to expand my Ukrainian cultural trip to Saskatoon, SK to the Mendel Art Gallery.

It had been recommended to me by a few people, so I took them up on their advice. How pleased I was.

After strolling through the main art gallery, I came upon an exhibit called School Art. A woman who was just leaving said to me, “Get ready to be blown away.”

Inside the room were about 200 works of art on the wall, along with a few mixed media pieces. They were all done by students in elementary and secondary schools in Saskatoon and made the grade after being chosen from over 1,000 submissions. They aptly named the event School Art.

School Art exhibit at the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon, SK (Canada): Top by Alexander Bent, Grade 10; Bottom by Abrar Monsur, Grade 12

All of the artwork had something interesting or completely charming about it; for some it was the talent of a grade 2 student, for others it was the grace of an artist ending their high school days.

I was ecstatic to have seen this treasure of an exhibit and learned that they run it annually because of its popularity. This year’s School Art is up until May 31, 2009 but if you miss it, it’ll happen again next April and May. Check it out!

What I liked:

• Talk about an exhibit without pretence! These kids are talented, young and full of creative energy.
• This is an annual event, so you can catch it next year.
• Admission to the gallery is free, so it’s a great trip to make for families and others who are on a budget.

Tags: canada, free admission, Mendel Art Gallery, saskatoon sk, School Art